Private Shoring Defenses

[Corazona von Ascania]

It had been a few years - at least - since Cora had last visited Alderaan. Her most recent trip in memory had been made to observe the discussion of succession that had lead to Alicio Organa being crowned King. During which, one Delila Castillon had mistaken her for a politician's mistress.

At the time, Cora had been too mortified to ask just which one of the old skeeves that woman thought she'd be playing mistress to.

She was still mortified by the memory, if she were being honest.

The flush of her cheeks began to evaporate as her transport touched down. The Jedi knight did not come today to seek an audience with the king, but with the CEO of Hekler'Kok Defense Industries - Noah Corek.

Cora had expressed the idea of a custom project - an energy shield modeled after Ukatian designs - to Valery, who had served as her connection. After exchanging messages with Mr. Corek, a meeting was arranged between the two.

The shuttle came to a halt on the private landing pad he'd given her the coordinates to. Cora took a moment to smooth down both her hair and clothes, patting down flyaways and static, before she made her way down the ramp.

Noah Corek

 

[Noah Corek]

Corazona von Ascania​

Noah was admittedly skeptical when he had originally gotten a message about a Jedi who wanted to commission him to make a piece of equipment from him. As a whole he did not like Jedi, there were of course exceptions such as Valery Noble whom he’d been friends with close to a decade and a half now and more recent friends like Efret Farr whom he’d bonded over history with.

But a job was a job and while he wasn’t charging for this, it was a favor for a friend after all so it wouldn’t be much of a favor if he did, he still had his professional reputation to uphold. It was for that reason that he sat here on the edge of a personal landing pad and waited for the arrival of the Jedi.

Leaning against the side of his personal vehicle he raised his arm to shield them from the downdraft of the engines as the shuttle landed before it came to be crossed over his chest once again as she stepped from the shuttle.

While she was concerned with her appearance Noah was not as well put together as he wore a pair of dark tan cargo pants with what appeared to be grease smudges on them and a dark green button up shirt that was untucked. The one thing of note that did look squared away was the slugthrower pistol holstered at his hip, cocked and ready.

“Miss von Ascania I presume?”

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

"Indeed. A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Corek."

Cora offered him a cordial smile. Her eyes wandered for a moment - subtly, as anyone would upon meeting a new person.

He was dressed practically, but her gaze lingered on the slugthrower at his hip. Her first impression of Noah Corek was that of a military man - one who'd seen countless bouts of combat, who knew war well enough to engineer a fortune from his creations.

As the greeting ended, Cora tilted her head towards Noah in a vague nod. "Thank you for meeting me here - you came highly recommended from Valery Noble."

Her focus drifted past him, to the rugged looking vehicle.

"She told me good things about you. I certainly hope she's said decent things of me."

A bit of humor slipped into her otherwise polite tone.

Noah Corek

 

[Noah Corek]

Corazona von Ascania ​

“The pleasure is all mine, not too often one meets a member of the Jedi Council…” Of course he didn’t mention the fact he’d meet at least four or five of them at some point.

Just as he was being sized up by Cora, she too was being sized up by him. The way she walked, talked and carried herself screamed formal education and possibility. Of course he knew this already but it was good to see he still had the analytical eye.

He chuckled and shook his head with a grin. “Val highly recommends me eh? Well that’s good, she usually tells people to avoid me.” His tone was obviously a joking one as he pushed himself up from leaning against his vehicle and motioning for Cora to follow.

He held the passenger side door open for her, no matter what he was still a gentleman, and once she sat down he closed the door and quickly made his way to the driver seat and started it up, put it in drive and made his way down a dirt road that connected to the landing pad.

The inside of the vehicle was obviously well maintained if not a little worn, a testament to Noah’s military background just as much as the rifle propped on the dashboard. As he pressed the ignition and the vehicle rumbled smoothly to life he chuckled when Cora mentioned Val saying good things about him. “Well good to see almost twenty years of friendship counts for something.”

As the vehicle trundled along, surprisingly smoothly for such a rugged looking vehicle, he chuckled when she remarked on what Val could have said about her. “She’s only told me good things, she is proud of ya, talks like you're a daughter, was especially proud of you becoming a council member.”

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

"One of its newest members," she added politely. The council was largely comprised of experienced Jedi masters, which made her appointment as a Knight all the more nerve-wracking.

Fortunately, the air between the two felt light. Jedi were not seen in a positive light by everyone - by many people - so she didn't take any wariness personally. She did, however, eye the rifle on the dashboard as she climbed into the passenger seat of the speeder. Cora smiled her thanks as he held the door open for her.

"Twenty years," she marveled. "I'm not surprised. She's very charismatic - Valery knows how to make friends."

Their slow journey to Noah's home was pleasant. Cora's gaze slipped to the window, idly focusing on the scenery as they passed by.

"Oh?" She turned her attention back to Noah, a faint flush settling onto fair cheeks. "Valery said that? All those things?"

Cora failed to stifle a genuine smile, eyes glittering. Valery was affectionate with her - as much as she was with her students and own children - but it was still a welcome surprise to hear that she'd spoken praise of her to another. The blonde's own parents had always been rather distant and cold.

"Have you lived out here for long?" she asked.

Noah Corek

 

[Noah Corek]

Corazona von Ascania ​

Noah gave the young woman’s dismissal of her achievement an equally dismissive wave of his hand. “From what I remember you share that title with Miss Serys since you were both inducted at the same time. But being inducted to the council is an achievement in its own right, being the newest or the oldest member.” He understood being inducted into an exclusive organization, being the next in line to lead his House he was part of a legacy stretching back millenia much like Cora was now.

He chuckled internally as he caught Cora eyeing his rifle on the dashboard, many took time to warm to Noah’s particular brand of weapon toting but they eventually came around once they became closer. His chuckling escaped his mind when she marveled at how long he and Valery had been friends. “Yeah, maybe a little more than that. Meet her at a market in Aldera and directed towards some quality gear and then where she could pick up a cheap but quality ship. After that I helped her on a few missions and we’ve been friends since.”

As they drove down the path towards the estate and Cora watched the scenery she would notice that it would subtly shift after a certain point, going from the trees native to Alderaan and giving way to tall and sturdy trees of an evergreen variety, if she was versed enough in horticulture she’d recognize them as Veshok trees native to Mandalore but obviously transplanted here.

Another chuckle came from his lips and he turned briefly to her and nodded. “She did indeed. Also told me that if anything happened to you while under my care there’d be hell to pay. I’ll say this, very little scares me in the galaxy but a Val determined to do harm makes me…cautious.”

When the subject of how long he’d lived out there was broached the man had to think for a few seconds to formulate an answer. “Me and my family have lived here…going on about twenty-five years now. The land our estate is on, about a five hundred acre plot, belongs to one of my wives family and we built our home there. After that we began buying up the land around it and developing it. We’ve got crop fields, greenhouses, moisture farms, a game preserve and an artificial lake to provide food and water.”

“We’re pretty much almost completely self-sufficient, which is what we prefer. I’m sure Val told you that not many get to set foot here, it’s only her vouching for you that got you here, no offense.”

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Her lips quirked into a little smile of appreciation. "I suppose I can only hope to do the role justice."

So it was a business deal that had brought Noah and Valery together - and then, that bond deepened enough to the point where they'd worked alongside one another. "That does sound like Valery," she agreed.

Cora gave a glance to Noah's reflection in the window before her eyes returned to their heavily wooded surroundings. The Alderranian oaks with their bushy tops became taller and slimmer. Bunches of deep green pine needles clustered along the bottoms of sturdy trunks, gradually thinning the higher they rose. Though she was well-versed in botany, it took her a few minutes to recognize them as the Veshok breed.

"Oh, now that does sound like Valery," she laughed softly. Inwardly, it warmed her to know that Valery still cared about her to the point of making threats. "There are few things in this galaxy scarier than an angry Valery Noble."

Both brows went up as Noah described his family homestead. "No offense taken. One's home is sacred." It was not inherently a bad thing to be wary of outsiders, especially given Noah's line of work.

"It sounds like you've put a lot of work into cultivating your home. I would be rather protective of it in your shoes."

Something that Noah had said stuck out to her, and only after a few moments did she realize what it was.

"One of your wives…? Ah, you've re-married."

Polyamory was not an accepted concept on Ukatis. Extra-marital affairs were ridiculously common, though.

Noah Corek

 

[Noah Corek]

Corazona von Ascania

He gave Cora a side eye when she laid out her hopes for her current role. “Take some advise from someone who’s part of a legacy much like yours. Take inspiration from the past but don’t be constrained by it. While our ancestors, both familial and organizational, had good ideas they aren’t exactly experiencing the exact same challenges as us so unique thinking is required.”

He chuckled when Cora spoke of it sounding like Valery and nodded. “Yeah she does have a sort of magnetic quality to her that attracts like minded people. Can’t tell you the amount of times we’ve pulled each other's collective asses out of the fire.”

He noticed her appreciation of the Veshok trees and chuckled. “Enjoying the scenery eh? Veshok trees are rare off of Mandalore and Concordia. One of my wives is a botanist. Took her a while to get them to grow outside of their native environment but she likes a challenge.”

He shivered when she mentioned an angry Valery and shook his head. “I’ve seen the results of some of her more…angry moments and I can safely say I do not wish to be on the receiving end. For such a caring and compassionate person she is capable of great violence…though I’m pretty sure she’d say the same about me.”

The trees began to thin and were now replaced with wide fields filled from fence to fence with a wide variety of crops. Some Cora would recognize as your normal food stuff while others were cash crops, things like medicinal herbs, cotton and flax. These fields were tended by many droids working to and fro with the mechanical precision one would expect from them.

A chuckle escaped his lips when Cora mentioned his marital status. “Well yes and no. I was previously married before my current marriage. But when I said ‘one of my wives’ I meant one of my two current wives. We have a polyamorous marriage. I have two wives and they both have a wife and a husband. Don’t ask me how it works…we’ve been married for about just as long as I’ve been friends with Val and I still couldn’t tell you how we’ve managed.”

 

[Corazona von Ascania]

Cora's lips pulled into the suggestion of a smile. Noah's wisdom had not fallen on deaf ears. "The Jedi council is diverse. The Masters come from different walks of life, different time periods, even. I've never thought of my relative inexperience as a potential boon."

At the mention of his wife - one of them - being a botanist, her attention shifted from the trees to Noah.

"Is she? I'd love to meet a fellow lover of flora. I grew up on an agricultural world and helped to develop Coruscant's biodome."

The Jedi's attention moved back to the open fields. She spied the oblong mottled orange buds of nysillin, a common medicinal herb, sprouting from rows of dirt.

"Poly-"

Don't ask him how it works. Don't ask him-

Cora cleared her throat, eyes now glued to tall stalks of corn as they passed by.

"That is…forgive me, but that is rather unusual where I am from. Do you have children?”

Noah Corek